Socialandpoliticalinfluencesonthetheoryofevolution

The predominant view in western cultures,

up until Darwins theory was creationism. This meant
that god created all organisms and they had not
changed nor were they related.
However the theory of evolution states
that there are variations between organism and that
some organism are better suited to survive and pass
on their favourable variations, leading to the
formation of a new species over time. Darwins
theory caused political and social outrage.
Political influencesIn the 1920s protestant traditionalists
campaigned against the anti-biblical ideas of
evolution.
Several states in the USA passes laws
banning the teaching of evolution in public schools.
In 1968 the US supreme court ruled that laws
banning the teaching of evolution were
unconstitutional, allowing the development of the
theory to continue.
The churches legitimacy was undermined be
the concept that nature and culture were self
evolving.
Social influencesBanning teaching of evolution meant that
people did not have basic knowledge of evolution
thus this slowed the development of the theory

Darwin was afraid of the consequences of his

theory on his wife and friends who ere devout
Christians
He was appalled that the theories that he was
secretly working on could lead to him being accused
of betraying his privileged class.
New discoveries began to change old beliefs.
In astronomy, the earth was shown to be one of the
several planets orbiting the sun and that mankind
was no longer at the centre of the universe. In
geology discoveries showed that the earth had
undergone slow continuous change and was much
older than previously thought.
Alternative theory of evolution- Lamark In
France, the French revolution and Napoleon reforms
had creates an environment
where Lamark was able to propose his theory
whereas this was impossible in conservative England.
The fact that Lamark was French was enough to
make Lamarks theories unwelcome in England. At
the time Lamark proposed his theory there wasnt an
alternative explanation for evolution therefore people
started paying attention to his ideas.